Ninepipes Museum celebrates 20th anniversary
courtesy photo
Local artists Nicole and Merle Big Bow will showcase their traditional art during the museum’s “Day of Celebration” on Saturday, June 3.
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News from Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana
CHARLO — Many visitors to the Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana have heard Bud Cheff Jr.’s story; that his passion for collecting Native American and early Montana artifacts began at the early age of 9. When his first found artifact, a war club, was destroyed in a house fire a few years later, the importance of preservation was driven home. Twenty years ago, Cheff’s passion culminated in building a venue where his, and other collections, would find a safe place to rest. Opening the Ninepipes Museum in 1997 was a family affair with wife, Laurel, and his father, Bud Cheff Sr. As Bud draws near retirement at the end of 2017, his daughter Jo, the museum’s associate executive director, is prepared to take the helm and ensure that her father’s passion stays alive. It is fitting that an oral history project completed this spring will enable future visitors to hear, in Bud’s own words, the backstory of 42 items located within the four rooms of the museum. Working with David King of David W. King Pictures of Polson, Bud recorded stories that are now installed on portable, hand-held walking-tour devices, and King’s professional background in audio and visual production enriched Bud’s stories with background music.
The museum’s Day of Celebration for its 20th anniversary is set for Saturday, June 3. On hand will be featured “First Saturday” artists Nicole and Merle Big Bow. This talented husband-and-wife duo find a passion in learning the origins of how “art has evolved throughout the generations of previous ancestors who have sustained the tradition of creating functional art that is now considered to be more aesthetic in purpose.” The Big Bow’s art includes, but is not limited to, beading on buckskin and wool, designing and fashioning various types of jewelry, painting in acrylic and watercolor, antler sculpture, and feather painting. Stop by the museum and see the Big Bows from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the gift shop.
Nancy Vaughan and her crew will be making fry bread and Indian tacos on site. Known thoughout the community as the queen of fry bread, Nancy will have all the ingredients on hand for some delectable treats.
The gift shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. offering special discounted items. Raffle tickets are available for a Pendleton commemorative blanket honoring Jackson Sundown, the 1916 Pendleton Round-up World Saddle Bronc Champion. Sundown lived for a time on the Flathead Reservation and the museum contains photos as well as a pair of beaded gloves he wore at rodeos. Marjorie Harper, a Mission Valley native now residing in Missoula and a founding member of the Montana Watercolor Society, donated a beautiful original painting, “Home on the Range” that is also part of the season-long raffle with proceeds to assist the non-profit 501c3 museum.
A new rock flower garden is nearing completion by Skip and Justin Palmer and Steven Hammond encompassing the Blue Star Highway Memorial sign which adds to the tribute of World War II veterans who served our country.
Mark your calendar to stop at the museum on Saturday, June 3, to celebrate accomplishments achieved and history preserved. The museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 28. Groups tours can be scheduled year-round by calling 406-644-3435.
